


Have You Ever

by Witkoa61



Category: British Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-02-09 11:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12887196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witkoa61/pseuds/Witkoa61
Summary: Tom sees a woman fall from an overlook while hiking in a northern Wisconsin nature reserve. He goes to help her only to learn that her fall was no accident and the man that pushed her is not happy she survived the fall. The race is on to get out of the woods.





	1. Chapter 1

Agony was what Cadence first noticed when she came to. Her left leg felt as though it were engulfed in flames. The pain was a combination of burning and stabbing sensations blended into one loud chorus of agony. The next thing that Cadence noticed was the swaying motion. She felt a bit like she had a few times when aboard a ship during rough seas. Bile was beginning to rise up from her stomach. She knew she wasn’t at sea because she could see the ground below her. “What the hell?” she thought to herself as she tried to make sense of what was happening. It took her a moment to breathe through the incredible pain that was throbbing up her left leg. Once she had tempered the pain for the moment, she was able to observe her surroundings.

The most obvious thing, aside from the agony emanating from her lower extremity, was that she was currently upside down. The next thing that drew her attention, even through her pain, was an incredibly taut, tight ass that she was currently getting an eyeful of. It was a glorious view but it only added to her confusion. She also caught the scent of some type of citrus which, combined with the natural woodsy scents around her, took her back to childhood memories of running through the orange grooves while vacationing in Florida.

Cadence’s pain and confusion quickly brought her back to the present. Presently, she needed to make some sense of what was happening to her. She began to hit as hard as she could, given her current position, against the back of the person that currently had a hold of her.

“Ooomph! Calm down! Give me a moment to find a place to set you!” Cadence heard from an obviously male voice as she continued to wail upon her captor.

“Put me down! Right! Now!,” Cadence continued to shout. “I know how to hurt you!” She knew that was an empty threat but she couldn’t think of any better threats in the moment.

Her captor’s pace had slowed and it did seem that he was looking for a place to stop. Soon she felt him turn around with her and begin to slowly bend down, lowering her onto a flat stone. Once he had set her down, he walked a few feet away and turned around to face her.

Her view of his backside had been impressive but it was nothing compared to how gorgeous the view from the front was. He was tall, but she had already surmised that since he had been able to carry her. Cadence was near 6 feet tall herself. The man standing in front of her had to be at least another couple of inches taller than her. He had very curly hair, it was quite long and a bit wild looking. The color of it caught her attention when he stepped into the light. Dirty blonde had been her first impression, but in the light it definitely had some red in it. He also had a full beard that was also fairly untamed in appearance. Strangely, he seemed familiar to her. Cadence was sure she had never met him before.

They both spoke at once, but Cadence stopped to allow him to speak first.

“Are you ok?” he inquired. Cadence could tell that he had, what seemed to be, an English accent. He definitely wasn’t from anywhere near here. It was strange, as even his voice seemed familiar to her.

“I’m not sure,” she replied.

“My leg hurts like hell. My head hurts and I feel like I’m going to throw up.

Also who are you?

Where are we?

What happened?”

Cadence had a hundred more questions but decided to start with these.

“Hmmm. I’m not really sure where to start and we don’t have a lot of time,” the stranger began.

“My name is Tom. We’re in a woods, somewhere near the Wisconsin/Michigan border.

I saw you get pushed off a ledge by a man as I was hiking. You must have hit your head during the fall and it appears your lower left leg may be broken. I thought it had been an accident and I ran over to help you. I was on a lower trail and was able to reach you first. You were unconscious when I got to you. Your companion came down as well. I thought he was coming to help but learned that had not been his intention. He and I fought a bit. He ran off and I grabbed you and took off in the opposite direction. Now here we are.”

“I don’t remember any of that.” Cadence replied. Suddenly a wave of incredible pain rushed over her. The pain was overwhelming and Cadence began to throw up over to the side. Tom rushed over to hold her hair as she finished retching.

“Oh, wow! I thought I was in pain when I woke up. It’s definitely beginning to hurt even more,” she whimpered. Cadence did not like to show any of her weaknesses to friends, much less strangers in the woods. She had worked hard throughout her life to get what she wanted by her own merits. It was a source of personal pride to her not to ever need to ask for help.

“You’re probably going into shock. We’re going to need to get you help. I’m not sure how much farther I can carry you.” Tom replied. Cadence could tell that he looked concerned. He was still standing next to her with his right hand continuing to hold her shoulder length dark hued hair in a ponytail.

“I may play a super villain on screen but unfortunately I don’t have his abilities in real life. I’m not sure how I’m going to get you out of here.”

“Oh my gosh! Is your last name Hiddleston? I thought I recognized you. If it weren’t for the excruciating pain, I would swear I was still asleep in bed. Maybe I am still asleep? Sorry dream Hiddleston, but I’d rather be awake without you then dreaming and in this pain. Maybe if I stand up and realize I’m not hurt, I will wake up?”

“Don’t do i…..” she heard Tom warn as she attempted to stand up. This wasn’t so bad she thought as she put her right foot down onto the ground. She then put her left foot down and collapsed in pain. Thankfully, she felt strong arms grab her around her abdomen and lift her up off of her feet. She was then set back down onto the stone she had previously been sitting on.

“Trust me, you’re not dreaming love!” Cadence could tell that he was annoyed with her. “I’m not the stuff of dreams. I’m just a bloke who was taking a hike during some time off of work in order to clear my head. Where I’m from, we don’t have woods like this. I enjoy exploring.

I’m having a difficult time believing what has happened today as well. It did happen and now we, as a team, need to work a way out of this. I like to think of myself as a gentleman, and as such, I’m not leaving you out here alone. We’re going to find a way out together.

Since we’re going to be spending some time together, what should I call you?”

You know my name but I have yet to learn yours.”

“Oh! Sorry! My name is Cadence Mahlke. My friends call me Cady.

I’m sorry Tom. Thank you for helping me. What do we do now?” Cadence began to dig in her pockets.

“Where is it? I always have it on me!” she muttered under her breath.

“What are you looking for darling?” Tom inquired as he watched her continue to rummage through her pockets.

“My cell phone. I always have it. Now when I need it, I can’t fricking find it!” she replied sullenly. “Do you have a cell phone on you that we could use to call for help?” she asked Tom hopefully.

“Unfortunately, I must have lost my mobile while I was wrestling with your mate back there. Even if we wanted to go back and look for it, I’m not sure I could find my way there. I hate to admit it but I’m a bit lost.

I wasn’t watching for the trail as I was trying to get you away from your crazy mate. I just picked you up and left as quickly as I could.”

Learning they were lost in the woods, Cady was beginning to realize the seriousness of the situation that she now found herself in. She had a pounding headache and was terrified to try to stand up again. She may as well be a 150 pound rock that Tom was burdened with for the amount of good she would be in getting out of this situation.


	2. Chapter 2

“What do we do now?” Cady quietly asked the man pacing back and forth in front of her.

“I’m not really sure.” He replied as he stopped pacing and turned to face her. “Obviously, we need to find a way out of this woods. That’s going to be a bit more challenging as you’re down to only one functional leg. It doesn’t help us any that it’s going to be dark soon. I guess we need to decide if we’re going to try to set up some sort of camp for the night or if we want to keep moving and try to find our way out of here in the dark.”

“Go on without me. Find some help and send them here for me.” Cady wasn’t sure where she was getting this sense of fearlessness from. “You can find your way out of this place a lot faster than I can in my current state. Whatever happened up on that ledge, it shouldn’t have to be your problem. I’ll stay right here and wait until you can send help.”

Cady looked up at Tom when she finished speaking. She was struggling to make eye contact with him. Shyness was one of her greatest weaknesses. Her anxiety around men multiplied by the degree that she found the man attractive. This crippling fear had held her back from having any kind of a romantic life. In some cruel twist of fate, she now found herself fully dependent upon one of, if not the most, attractive man she had ever met.

“No. That’s not going to work for me.” Tom replied. He had caught her looking at him and was holding her gaze. Cady wanted to break the eye contact but couldn’t get herself to look away from the ocean blue depths she found herself in. “I would definitely lose my gentleman’s card if I left an injured damsel in distress alone in the woods overnight. Plus, to be completely honest, I’m not sure I can find my way out of here in the dark. I’ve never been much of an outdoorsmen. Even if I found my way out, I don’t think I’d be able to send help straight back to you.

I think it best if we plan on spending the night here and finding a way out in the morning after sunrise.

I think we’ll make a camp here for the night.”

“How are we going to do that? I doubt either one of us planned on camping tonight. I don’t have any type of camping gear with me. How are we going to make it through the night without freezing to death?” Cady asked. She wasn’t sure if it was shock or just the air temperature but she was beginning to feel cold. She had dressed for the weather today. She was wearing thermal underwear beneath her jeans. She had worn an old t-shirt under a hoodie. Lastly she had worn her winter coat. This clothing had kept her comfortable in the 50 degree Fahrenheit weather but she could feel the temperature growing colder. It could drop down below freezing during the night this time of year.

“We are going to be ok. First thing we need to do, now that it’s decided that we’re staying right here, is do something about your leg.” Tom said as he began to walk toward Cady.

“Whoa, buddy! Stop right there! You’re an actor, not a doctor! No one is touching my leg. Hell! I’m not even touching my leg. I’d rather just ignore it and hope for the best!”

“Cadence. It’s Cadence right?” Tom stopped when he reached Cadence on her perch upon the rock.

“Yes. That’s right.” The man really was tall, she thought as she looked up at him. And much too handsome. The 5 o’clock shadow that was beginning to darken his face made him appear a bit wild. He looked like someone you would not want to cross paths with in the woods at night. That is, until you looked into his eyes. The painter Auguste Renoir would have had a field day painting the man currently standing in front of her. “Please, like I said earlier, call me Cady. I’m only Cadence if I’m in trouble.”

“Fine, Cady. We have to check your leg and determine how badly you’re hurt. Then we need to come up with some type of splint for it. Now sit still while I take a look.” Tom sat on the rock beside Cady on her left side. Cady was sitting with her right leg folded in front of her and her left leg lying straight in front of her. Her jeans were somewhat large on her. A better diet and trying to be more active had helped her lose a few pounds over the winter months. It was impossible to tell from looking at her leg, encased in her jeans, how badly she was injured.

“Your leg doesn’t appear to be bleeding. That’s a positive at least. We will still need to stabilize it so that we can move in the morning without making anything worse.” He said as he very gently began to untie the laces of the shoe on her left foot.

Cady nearly laughed when she was overcome with relief that she had decided to put on a new pair of socks this morning. Then she remembered which brand new socks she had put on. They had arrived yesterday with the rest of her order from Amazon. That was when she heard the small choke of laughter come from next her. Damn! She thought to herself. He noticed. Cady’s socks were Loki green and had Loki’s horned helmet printed in gold on the sides.

“Nice socks,” he quipped as he set her shoe to the side and began to slide her sock down her left foot. Tom then placed his right index and middle fingers on Cady’s foot and checked for a pulse. “I feel a pulse. Whatever damage has been done, your leg is still getting adequate blood flow. Are you able to wiggle your toes?”

Grimacing from the pain it caused, Cady was able perform the requested toe wiggling.

“Excellent Darling! That’s very good. I can see some bruising on your leg and your ankle is also pretty swollen.

Being that we’re stranded here for the night, I’m going to splint your left leg to your right leg. It’s going to make it tricky for you to move and you’re going to need to trust me. It’s the most secure way to splint your leg for the night. We’ll have to figure something out later for when we’re ready to move.” Tom began to rummage in a small back pack that Cady hadn’t noticed earlier. From it, he pulled out a small first aid kit.

“You sure prepare for everything when you go for a run, don’t you?”

“I carry the kit to address blisters and such that sometimes cause issues. It’s no fun to be half way through a 10 km run and develop blisters and no way to deal with them.” Tom replied as he pulled a couple of long white bandages from the kit.

“I’m going to be as gentle as I can be while I do this. Please let me know if the pain becomes too much.

First, I need you to straighten out this leg,” he said gently touching her uninjured right leg, “and place it straight along your left leg here.” 

Cady did as he asked. The outdoors and medicine had been two areas that she had never had much interest in. Now she hated her lack of knowledge in these areas as she allowed a man, she only knew from watching him perform on her television, essentially tie her up.

She watched as he snaked one of the bandages beneath her knees and the other one beneath her ankles. Tom then stood up and removed his belt. The belt he set down next to her. He then removed his jacket, which he also set by her. Underneath his jacket, he had a hoodie on. The hoodie was the next to come off. Cady wasn’t sure where this was going. It was getting cooler out as the sun was beginning to go down. Not ideal strip tease weather.

“Ahhh, Tom, what are you doing? It’s not really that warm out.”

“Hehehe. Don’t get too excited. I need to use something to cushion between your legs. My hoodie should do the trick.” Tom replied while putting his jacket back on. “As for the belt. I need it for the splinting. I don’t have enough long bandages.”

He walked around to her feet as he was talking. Bending down, he placed his hoodie between Cady’s calves. Next, using his belt, Tom slid it beneath both her ankles, he then crossed the belt and looped it down under the bottoms of her feet. He secured it as tightly as he could. Her ankles were the next thing to be secured.

“You must tell me if this causes too much pain.”

Cady clamped her jaw shut as Tom began to tighten the first bandage. “Ok! Stop! That’s good. I don’t think I can stand it any tighter.”

“All right. Now I’m going to start tightening the last one here at your knees. Again, please tell me when it’s tight enough.”

When had life become a scene right out of a movie? Cady thought to herself. Everything felt very surreal. Yet the pain was real, very real.

“Ouch! Stop. Too tight!” Cady hissed as she was brought out of her thoughts by sharp pain. Tom quickly loosened the bandage a bit.

“Is that better?” he anxiously asked her.

“Yea. It is actually. I can’t move. At all. But my leg does a feel a little better though.”

“Ok. Next thing to do. Shelter. I guess start with a fire? That will give us warmth and light.”

Cady watched Tom as he walked around their impromptu camp site. He was collecting medium sized rocks and making a pile of them near where Cady was perched on her rock shelf.

“What are you up to now Tom?”

“Fortunately, there’s very little wind today. I still want to take precautions against our fire becoming bigger than we intended it to be. We should be ok if we create a small fire pit and surround it with these rocks.”

“Sounds brilliant but how are you going to start this fire?”

“With this wonderful little magical creation,” Tom replied digging a lighter out of his back pack. “Never know when someone’s going to need a light!”

“What else do you have in your bag Mary Poppins?” Cady teased the curly haired man in front of her.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He teased back as he dropped the last stone down onto the top of the pile.

Sitting cross-legged next to the pile of stones, Tom began to dig out an area for the fire. Cady noticed that Tom had found a stone that was shaped such that it made an adequate scoop. It didn’t take him long to dig out a shallow hole to have a fire pit. The stones were placed around the outside of this hole to act as a fire block.

“Don’t run off while I find some wood to fuel our fire,” Tom said as he walked off into the woods.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

 

Cadence had been just about to doze off when she heard Tom returning to their camp.

“Sorry that took so long. I hate leaving you here alone, especially when you’re splinted and unable to move. I think I’ve found enough dry wood to get the fire started.” Tom looked at her with concern in her eyes.

“Tom, do you have any water in that magic bag of yours?”

“I do. Just my water bottle that I bring with me while running. It’s still almost full. Here you go.” He said handing the bottle to her.

Cady took a long drink from the bottle. She wanted to drink it all but it wouldn’t be good if they were without water. Setting the half full bottle down beside her, she began to watch Tom’s progress with the fire.

As far as she could tell, Tom seemed to know what he was doing. He had shredded up some dried leaves and made a pile of them in the center of the freshly dug out fire area. Now he was taking smaller twigs, and making a teepee shaped structure over the leaves. Next he applied the flame, from the lighter, to the leaves. The fire took quickly and Tom began to place additional small twigs onto the pile of burning leaves. A few minutes later, a small fire was happily snapping and popping beside them.

“Where did you learn all this stuff? The splinting and the fire building? I thought you were born and raised a city boy over in bonny England.”

“I am, admittedly, a city boy. In my profession, one does tend to pick up a few skills here and there. To be honest, the two skills you mentioned are actually two of my newest skills. I’m working on a picture that is filming north of here. It deals with wild fire firefighters. My part is that of a “smoke jumper” or a firefighter that parachutes into difficult to reach areas. In researching this role, I studied up on fires and on emergency care.”

“You are an excellent student. I’d give you a solid B so far.”

“A B score? Really? I would have thought I had done A level work so far!” Tom exclaimed in surprise.

“Calm down there buddy!” Cady laughed at his outburst. “We are still lost in the woods. Otherwise I would have given you an A.”

Tom looked a little crestfallen. The look passed. It hadn’t taken Cady long to realize how much of an optimist Tom was. It seemed that no matter what situation the man found himself in, he consciously chose to work toward positive outcomes. Never had he complained yet. Cady was impressed by his attitude and wished her own attitude was more like his.

“I don’t intend for us to be lost here for long.” Tom replied as he picked up one of the longer sticks he had brought back with him. “Now to set up a bit of shelter for us.” He began to look around the area. “I don’t see any large old branches up above us that could fall. That’s the last thing we need tonight is to be crushed. I feel we have quite enough going on already.”

Tom proceeded to set up a bit of a lean-to made up of branches and leaves. The wind was coming out of the north and so he set up the lean-to north of where Cady was currently positioned on the rock. She was beginning to feel warm for the first time since the sun had gone down. She had the fire a couple of feet in front of her. The lean-to behind her had stopped a majority of the cold wind from hitting her.

“How’s that?” Tom asked from behind her as he was placing the last of the leaves onto the lean-to.

“Not bad! Not exactly like being home in bed but at least it’s not freezing cold anymore.” Cady was becoming sore from lying on her back for so long.

“Tom, do you think you can help me to lie down? I’m getting tired. Weird, since I’m in so much pain, you wouldn’t think I could get tired. I really would like to try lying on my side.”

“Just a moment darling. Let me put some more wood onto the fire. Then we’ll get you situated.”

Cady watched Tom add more wood to the small fire. She then watched as he removed a few items from his backpack. Next Tom began to fill the now empty backpack with dry leaves. When he was finished with that, he gently sat down next to her.

“This should make an acceptable pillow. I’m sorry I don’t have any ideas on how to make this rock any softer. I don’t want to move you onto the ground. I think that trying to get you up from the ground will be a lot more difficult that getting you up from this rock. This rock is plenty wide enough for the two of us to share. We’ll get you lying on your side. I’ll lay behind you to help support your legs.”

Tom helped Cady to slowly maneuver her splinted legs to the side. Her right leg on the bottom and her injured leg on the top. Once she had herself turned over she laid down and Tom placed the make shift pillow beneath her head. He then laid down behind her like he had said he would.

Cady had to swallow a moment of panic. She had never had anyone lay this close to her. Not even her sisters when they were little. The physical closeness of another person was bringing up a lot of insecurities for Cady. She was doing what she could to fight the panic. Succumbing to panic was not going to make this night any easier.


	3. Chapter 3

“Are you alright?” Tom asked Cady softly as he settled himself next to her.

_Damn, he must have noticed something_. Cady thought to herself. She didn’t want Tom to know how nervous it made her having him so close to her.

“Yea, I’m ok. My leg is killing me but I can handle it.” She replied. Cady could feel Tom moving around behind her. The large stone they were spending the night on made for a hard and cold bed. She doubted he would find a comfortable position to sleep in.

“I want to try to help you support your leg since you want to try sleeping on your side. Please know I’m not trying to take advantage of you but I think if I lay directly behind you…spooning you is what I believe they call it here, my legs can help to support your legs.

Plus it will help us to keep each other warm since we don’t have any blankets. Are you ok with this?”

“We can try it.” Cady replied. “I’ll tell you if I need you to give me some space.”

She held her breath as she felt Tom move in closer to her on their makeshift bed. Nervousness overcame her. She’d never had anyone lay this close to her. In her youth, she’d been tormented by bullies. She had been an easy target. She had always been taller than average and too shy to defend herself. The results of the bullying had been her complete lack of trust in other people. Cady allowed no one to get close to her because then no one would have the power to hurt her like she had been hurt as a child. This ingrained fear and distrust had also prevented her from allowing herself to put her heart out there and attempt to date.

“You can breathe now darling.” She heard Tom tease as he settled in behind her.

Giggling nervously, Cady breathed out.

“I’m sorry. I’m just a bit nervous. Today has been a bit much.”

She heard Tom sigh behind her. “I agree. Today definitely didn’t go the way that I thought it would.”

“Tom, I’m sorry that you got caught up in this.” Cady could feel herself losing control of her emotions. Tears began to stream from her eyes. The tears only made her more frustrated and angry with herself. How could she have been so stupid to get herself into this situation? These thoughts and feelings only made her cry harder.

Suddenly, she felt a strong arm pull her into a hug. The gesture reminded her that she wasn’t alone.

“Cady, it’s going to be ok. We’ll make it through the night together. We’ll get out of the woods together. I promise.” He reassured her. “I can tell you’re beating herself up. Please don’t. None of this is your fault darling.”

“Even so, I still feel like an idiot. How did I not see what kind of person Gavin is?” Cady could feel her hysteria beginning to fade. It was comforting to have Tom’s arm around her. She was surprised how quickly she was beginning to trust this man. A man she had only really known for a few hours.

“One thing I’ve learned from portraying different characters and reflecting on their motivations, is that people are really good at hiding their true natures. Most people want to be accepted by others. These people act one way in public and behave as their true selves in private.

I have yet to meet anyone who’s truly telepathic. Other than that, there’s no way to know who someone really is deep down.”

“How can I ever trust anyone if everyone is putting on a show?” Cady asked.

“It’s the price we pay for a feeling of connection and belonging with others. There are people out there who are Oscar worthy performers. They put on a show of being normal in their day to day life when, in actuality, they are monsters.

You can’t banish all people from your life out of fear. It would be sentencing yourself to a life alone. No one deserves that. I admit. I’m a bit of a hopeless romantic. I feel it’s easier to get through the trials and tribulations of life as part of a team. Plus, having someone to snuggle with, on a cold night in the woods, makes it easier to endure.” He said as he hugged Cady a bit tighter.

Cady could feel some of the pent up tension leaving her body as she began to calm down. Tom was right. It wasn’t fair to blame herself for someone else’s decisions and actions. She knew in her heart that she had never done anything to Gavin to deserve what he had done to her today.

“Tom. Thank you for that. I guess it can be difficult to see a situation clearly when you’re one of the people in the middle of it. Even so, I wish today hadn’t happened.” Cady said softly. “I’m not talking about meeting you. You’ve turned out to be the best part of a terrible day!” She turned her head toward Tom and gave him a small smile. The movement triggered a sharp pain from her injured leg. Drawing in a sharp breath, Cady tried to breathe through the worst of the sudden burning pain.

“Careful now! You need to try to keep as still as possible. I wish there was more that I could do to help you right now.” Tom said as he scooted himself closer to her on their makeshift bed. “Lean against me. Hopefully with my legs against yours, it’ll help to keep your legs from shifting as much.”

Cady realized it was easier to keep still with Tom behind her. Plus it made her feel a little bit safer. She was still trying to stave off an epic panic attack. Too much had happened today and she felt she was probably past her proverbially breaking point. A couple of minutes and some deep breathing exercises later, Cady felt more in control of herself.

“Tom, are you still awake?”

“Hmm…Yea.” Tom replied groggily.  “I thought you had fallen asleep.”

“No. Still awake. I’m not sure I can sleep. To be honest, I’m incredibly frightened. I’m hurt. I’m hungry. I’m cold. I’m everything but sleepy right now.”

“That’s understandable. How about we play a game?” Tom asked. “A word game since you’re in no shape for athletic competition.”

“Ok. What did you have in mind?” Cady inquired.

“How about a game of Have You Ever? I’ll ask you a question starting with “Have you ever..” and you give a truthful response. Then you can ask me a question. Let’s keep R-rated topics off the list of questions. How’s that sound?”

“Let’s do it. It’ll help make some time pass. You start, Tom.”

“Let’s see…have you ever been to England?”

“I have actually. Once. I went to London to see a play.” Cady answered.

“Really?” Tom replied, “Which play?”

“That wasn’t a Have you ever question and I believe it’s my turn.” She smiled to herself, surprised by how outspoken she had been. “Have you ever been afraid of the dark?”

“Interesting question. I had the typical childhood fears when I was young. Now I find beauty in the dark. Beauty and clarity. My favorite place to ponder life is on a clear night under the stars. Looking up at the night sky, one realizes just how small one person is and how small one’s problems are.

My turn. Have you ever seen a Shakespearean play?”

“I have. I enjoyed it and hope to see another one someday. Have you ever been to a dairy farm?”

Tom took a moment to think. “No. I don’t believe I have. I have been to horse farms but never a dairy.”

Cady lost track of how long the game went on. Tom continued to try to learn about her trip to England and she continued to give vague answers. Tom seemed to enjoy the challenge. He continued his line of questioning throughout the game. Exhaustion finally began to overtake her and it became difficult to keep her eyes open. She fell asleep listening to Tom talking about his favorite act from his favorite Shakespearean play, probably in response to a question that she was too tired to remember asking.


	4. Chapter 4

Running. Branches grabbing at her hair and clothes. Trying to slow her down. To make her fall. To allow the shadow behind to capture her! Running faster. Swatting the branches away. Just a little further to safety.

Then a hand grabs her shoulder. He’s caught her. She screams as she falls to the forest floor…

 

“Cady!? Wake up!”

 

Cady wakes from the nightmare and instinctively, quickly sits up. Instantly she is reminded of her injured leg as it is jostled by her sudden movements. She barely suppresses a scream of agony. Her leg feels as though there is a molten metal rod going down the center of it. The burning sensation is almost more than she can take. She retches from the unexpected pain but nothing comes up as she hasn’t had much to eat.

“Cady, are you ok?” A concerned English male voice asks.

It takes her a moment to catch her breath. As her heart rate slows, she remembers where she is and what has happened.

“Nightmare. Sorry….Oh man….I shouldn’t have moved….” Cady groans. “My leg feels like a million fiery drills are going into it all at once. Oh Tom. It hurts and I don’t know what to do.” The pain is too much and Cady can’t stop the tears from falling. Tears of pain. Tears of fear. Tears of frustration.

Tom had been sitting beside her since she had awakened from her nightmare. He had tried to hold her still during her restless dreams to keep her from injuring herself even more. The next few hours, or days – please not days- were going to be painful for her. Tom knew this and wanted to grant her as much time asleep as possible. Sleep was the only escape from pain that Cady had here in the woods. He had known she was sleeping restlessly but he hadn’t expected her to sit up and swing her body around like that when she woke up. She had banged her injured leg onto the ground during this frenzied movement.

Tom inched closer to Cady and pulled her into a massive hug doing his best to soothe her tears. He understood some of what she must be feeling as he too was afraid, unsure, and uncomfortable out in this forest in the middle of the night.

“Shhhhhh…” Tom whispered into her hair as he held her close. “You’re so incredibly tough! I’m amazed by how brave you are.”

“I’m not brave, Tom. I’m terrified. I hurt so so so much. All I really want is my Mom right now!” She hiccupped as the tears continued to come.

Cady didn’t care about anything at the moment. She didn’t care about who she was with or what she was saying. All she could think of was how much pain she was in and how much she didn’t want to be in pain anymore.

“I hate boys! I hate liars! I hate my stupid sore leg! None of this is fair!” she continued to vent into her companion’s shoulder.

Tom continued to hold her tight to himself. He didn’t know what to say and he could sense that Cady wasn’t listening to anything other than her own pain at the moment. Tom took a moment to look at his companion. Her dark hair fell just below her shoulders. It was a mess of tangles. The tangles in her hair made her somehow seem more natural and wild. She was still crying but there were no streaks on her face. Interesting, Tom thought. He didn’t know many women who didn’t wear at least some makeup. Her dark brown eyes were currently rimmed in red from the tears and definitely from exhaustion. They had both been through a long day.

Slowly, her tears began to abate and her breathing slowed to a more natural pace.

“Tom?” She inquired as she slowly brought her eyes up to meet his.

“Yes?”

“Sorry for that. I don’t make it a practice to lose it in front of people. Especially people I don’t know.” The fire he had been tending all night provided enough light that he could see the blush that spread across her face.

“I make it a practice to never apologize for my emotions unless I have hurt someone. You have no reason to make apologies to me, darling.” He replied as he scooted around Cady a bit so that he could look into both her eyes. “Do you feel a bit better now? I know I tend to feel at least a little better after I have a good cry.”

Tom was beyond relieved when Cady smiled at him for the first time.

“You know? I actually do feel a tiny bit better!

“You have a beautiful smile! I’m glad that I got the chance to see it.” Tom said as he pulled Cady into another hug.

“Stop. You probably say that to all the pretty girls!” Cady teased.

“I most certainly do not. I only say it to exceptionally beautiful women!”

Cady couldn’t help but be charmed by Tom’s megawatt smile, one she had seen in many of his interviews. She couldn’t help but be intrigued by how different he looked in person compared to what she remembered him looking like on screen. She was surprised to see a small smattering of freckles on his face. Probably easily covered by makeup and thus unknown to the world. The discovery of freckles made him seem more human to her and less the untouchable movie star.

“Any idea what time it is?” Cady asked hoping the night was almost over but knowing she had not been asleep for very long.

“It’s just past midnight.” Tom replied with a small grimace. “Hopefully we can get you back to sleep again. That way the night will pass more quickly and less painfully for you.”

Tom doubted that Cady would be falling back to sleep any time soon. She was sweating quite heavily and her coloring wasn’t looking very good. He had seen her retching when she had woken up and he could tell she definitely wasn’t feeling well. Tom put a hand to Cady’s forehead. She felt warmer than Tom thought that she should. Her temperature didn’t seem overly high yet but it was enough that Tom was beginning to worry.

Cady was still sitting up so Tom was able to grab his backpack from behind her. He dug around in it until he located the bottle of aspirin that he kept there. He dumped 2 tablets into his hand and grabbed his water bottle. He handed the pills and the water to Cady.

“Cady, please take these. I think you may have a fever starting. Plus I know that you're in pain.” He told her as he watched her take the water and aspirin. “Is there anything else I can do for you right now?”

“I feel silly for asking but can you just hold me for a while? You don’t have to if you don’t want to. It’s just that I’m freaking out and having you near me seems to help me feel safer.”

She felt Tom immediately move himself around behind her. His long legs went along both sides of her. Warmth began to seep through onto her back from his chest. He must be a heck of a hot box to share a bed with she thought with a smile.

“Is this ok?” she heard him say softly into her right ear. The sensation of his breath on her face sent an involuntary shiver through her. “Oh God! Did I hurt you?” a now concerned voice said slightly louder.

“No. Tom. It’s fine! I’m fine. I’m just not used to hearing a voice so close to my ear.  It startled me a bit. I’ve led a rather sheltered life. I’m not accustomed to having people in my personal space. This is good.” Cady said as she dared to lean a bit against the man behind her.

“That can’t be true. You must have shared “space” with at least a bloke or two?”

“Alas, Mr. Hiddleston. We are not all as outgoing and attractive as others are blessed to be. And to be honest, a big part of that is just fear. The classic fear of rejection. There’s the fear of not being good enough. Fear of falling in love and then the other person leaving. Lots of fear. I never wanted to deal with the fear so I just didn’t.”

“You were never attracted to anyone? No one ever pursued you? I would find that hard to believe.” Tom said as he ran his fingers through Cady’s hair.

“You really are as kind in person as you come across in your television interviews. I loved the interview where you offered the girl your coat.” Cady sighed. She wasn’t sure how to reply to Tom. His playing with her hair was very distracting. She liked it. She liked it a lot. It was difficult to think about the conversation while his strong, long fingers were playing with her hair.

“I dislike watching others be uncomfortable. If it’s in my power to help, I’ll help. Being kind is usually very easy to do. I just wish more people would practice kindness.

Back to the previous topic, you have never dated?”

 

Of course Tom would go back to that. Cady had hoped the change in topic would have been enough to stop this line of questioning. Her nonexistent dating life was a subject that all her family and friends knew better than to bring up. Why did Tom seem so curious about it?

“Of course I’ve been attracted to a few guys over the years. I just never did anything about it. Most, if not all of them, probably never even knew of my interest. As far as being pursued by men…Not really. I’m pretty sure I give off a don’t-fuck-with-me vibe that guys read pretty easily. I’ve had the drunken kiss or two in a bar when extremely drunk. I also don’t do the online dating thing. So that’s that.”

 

“Hmmm. Interesting.” She heard from behind her.

 

“What does it matter?” She asked him. Even she could hear the angry tone in her inquiry.

Tom stopped playing with her hair. He scooted around her a bit so that he could look into her eyes.

“It does matter. I’ve only known you a few hours. In that time, you’ve shown me how tough and resilient you are. You’re fun to talk to. I feel that good people deserve to find love. Cady, you’re a good person. I’m just trying to understand why someone with as much to offer as you do, would rather never play the love game and thus never win. When you could very easily play and win more than you know.”

 

Before Cady could reply, a cry came from not too far away in the woods. It sounded like a child screaming.

“Tom! What’s happening?” Cady cried as Tom carefully, so as not to jostle Cady, stood up.

“I don’t know but I better go look!” Tom said as he strode off into the woods.

 


	5. Chapter 5

The screaming sounded like it was coming from nearby Tom thought as he stopped moving for a moment to listen. There was terror in the scream. The fear was evident in the pitch and tempo of the sound. It was high pitched as though a small child were making it. The screams were one after another.

The sound brought back a long forgotten memory. Tom had been quite young, maybe 8 years old. He remembered the sun warm on his skin that day. It was one of the first days of the season that had truly felt like summer. Tom’s mother had taken Tom and his younger sister Emma for a walk. They had left their home and traveled by tube to a nature reserve in northern London.

This was one of Tom’s favorite places on the planet. He had loved the walking paths, the greenery, the birds and occasional animals he spotted during these outings. This day had been much like any other time he and his family had visited. Until it wasn’t.

His younger, by five years, sister had always been a very curious child. The type of child who acted prior to thinking. Darting off to investigate anything that caught her interest.

Tom had been walking with their mother, practicing different impressions of people. Taking note of the impressions his mother laughed the hardest at. He had always enjoyed performing for others. He relished the attention. A captive audience was to him like a drug he couldn’t get enough of.

Tom was brought out of his reminiscence by another scream coming from further in the woods. He began to slowly make his way toward the sound as his mind slipped back to that afternoon in his youth.

Tom’s mother had been keeping an eye on Emma. Emma had not liked to be corralled as a child and was happiest when left to her own devices. She never went far and was very good about staying within eye sight of whichever parent she was with. Tom had been ignoring his sister and in the middle of an impression of a performance he had seen on television, when he lost his footing and fell. His mother had turned to check on him and help him up off the ground.

That was when the screaming had begun. Immediately Tom and his mother had both known that the screams were those of Emma. The memory alone was so charged with fear that Tom’s eyes watered whenever he thought of it. It had taken his mother and him only a few seconds to locate Emma but it had felt like hours. Still the screams had continued. They found Emma just off the walking path near some blooming shrubbery. There was a brown and black dog standing between Emma and the walking path. The creature was obviously feral. It was very thin and its coat was matted with dirt. The dog was crouching in front of Emma and growling.

The next thing Tom noticed would stay with him for the rest of his life. Emma had been bitten on her cheek by the dog. Blood was running down her face. Tom remembered the blood running down her neck and coloring the white top his sister was wearing a pale shade of pink. In that moment, Tom had felt himself a complete failure. He had failed as a brother. He had failed as a protector. It was his responsibility to protect his little sister. He had failed and now Emma was in danger.

Tom witnessed that day what a Mother will do for a child in danger. There was no hesitation on his mother’s part. She had told him to stay where he was and she had rushed to Emma. The dog seemed to sense the wrath that was upon it and it ran away immediately. Their mother scooped Emma up into her arms and hurried back to Tom. The commotion had attracted some attention at this point. One person offered a towel to stanch the bleeding. Another person gave the family a lift to the nearest medical facility.

Emma had come through the encounter with a small scar which looked a bit like a butterfly on her cheek. It was easily covered by makeup and hadn’t caused her any problems. The experience had taught the young girl the value in thinking something through before doing it. Not every dog wants to be petted. 

The screaming had stopped. Whatever had been wailing just moments before was either beyond all help or had become quiet once aware of the attention it was beginning to attract. Tom didn’t care what the reason. He was just relieved that peace had been restored in the forest.

Turning around, Tom could still see the light from the fire burning outside his make shift shelter for the night. He began to carefully but quickly make his way back to the light. It would be disastrous if he were to become so injured that he could not walk. Cady was in no shape to walk at all. His two legs were one of their only hopes of getting out of this woods.

“Tom? Is that you?” He heard Cady nervously call out as he approached the camp site.

“Yes. It’s just me.” Tom could imagine how frightening things must be for Cady at the moment. She was unable to move much on her own. This inability to move also left her rather defenseless. He sensed that deep down Cady was made of extremely tough stuff. He thought, if it was the only option, she would walk on that leg if she absolutely had to.

“It’s ok! No need to get up!” Tom said quickly. He saw that Cady had grabbed his pack to use as a pillow again and was lying on her side. “Stay where you are. I’ll be right over.”

“What was that screaming?”

“I’m not sure. It stopped before I could locate who or what was making the noise. I think we should be ok for the night. Whatever it was, I don’t believe it will come looking for us.”

Tom gathered a few more nearby fallen branches and added them to the fire. He then laid down again behind Cady. She seemed more relaxed this time with him beside her. The first time he had laid beside her earlier, she had been as motionless as a plank. She may have even been holding her breath a bit. Now she appeared to be more at ease in his presence.

“Are you feeling any better since taking the aspirin?”

“It still hurts like hell but it is a tiny bit less painful. I think I may be able to sleep again. Thank you for checking on that noise. The woods really are much more menacing at night.” Cady said as she turned her head to look up toward the sky.

“You see that up there.” She motioned skyward with her chin. “Is that just a branch or is it some wicked imp’s arm? The sounds around us…Is it the wind? Or are other creatures about?”  Cady turned her head to look at Tom. He could see a hint of a smile on her face.

“You believe in creatures of the forest?” He teased her.

“I’m indifferent. They may exist. They may not. I think of it like Schrödinger's cat. I both believe that they could exist and believe that they are fictional. Plus, where’s the fun in life if you don’t think a bit of magic is possible?”

Cady yawned and then turned her head away from Tom and closed her eyes.

“Tom?”

“Yes darling”

“Can you recite something, anything? It’s easier for me to fall asleep to sound. At home I usually have a fan running or the television on when I go to bed.”

“Ummm. Sure. I can try. Any requests?”

“No. I could listen to you read a phone book and enjoy it. You have a wonderful voice. I’m sure you’ve heard that about a million times. It doesn’t make it any less true.”

“Thank you. That’s very kind. Hmm… Let me think.”

Tom thought about all the literature that he had memorized. He finally settled on a classic. A literal classic. A story he had studied while at Cambridge.

He began,

“Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ son Achilleus  
and its devastation, which put pains thousandfold upon the Achaians,  
hurled in their multitudes to the house of Hades strong souls  
of heroes, but gave their bodies to be the delicate feasting  
of dogs, of all birds, and the will of Zeus was accomplished  
since that time when first there stood in division of conflict  
Atreus’ son the lord of men and brilliant Achilleus. . . .”


End file.
